Struggle
by bonesfan1424
Summary: He has to help her heal a permanent wound. Pre-Season 6.
1. Confession

_My hand ran down her face and grazed her cheek. You're so beautiful, I whispered as she inched her way towards my Cocky belt buckle, unbuckling it teasingly slow. I love you…I hissed when she softly kissed my lips. I love you too, Booth._

I shot up at the blare of the alarm clock, panting with desire. _Damn, that dream was realistic._ It's been 6 months since she's been gone, doing research at some island, with a name I can never remember. I immediately grinned, remembering that today's the day she'll be coming back. _Finally_. I glanced at the clock. 7:45. _Shit, I'll be late._ I quickly changed clothes, smirking when I slid my Cocky belt buckle through my pants—replaying that dream in my head. Time to pick her up.

* * *

After what felt like the longest drive of my life, I reached the airport. As soon as I walked through the doors, my eyes immediately scanned around, hoping to see that gorgeous face. After 10 minutes of searching, I was getting impatient.

"Booth!"

I snapped around, and there she was. Her sweet smile and warm eyes instantly made my heart beat faster. Her hair was down, resting on her shoulders. Just how I like it. Although, something seemed off. Her face was missing that glow it once had. Quickly, she dropped her suitcase and pulled me into a warm embrace. I wrapped my arms around her slim figure and held her tight. _I missed you so much._

During the car ride, I had trouble keeping my eyes on the road. I kept looking over at her, wanting nothing more than to hug her again.

"Bones I'm so glad you're back!" I beamed. "You hungry? We can get something to eat here."

She forced a smile. "Thanks, I'm fine. Booth…can I stay at your apartment tonight?"

Disbelief came over me. "Uh…sure Bones. Of course." I knew she must've had a reason, so I didn't question her.

She only gave a small nod. "Thank you.." she said softly.

She was acting strange. I pulled up by my apartment, and grabbed her suitcase from the back of the car. _She really didn't pack much_.

Once we got into the apartment, she flopped onto the couch, clearly exhausted after her long flight. I sat next to her and threw my arm around her shoulder. "You can sleep in my bed, Bones, I'll take the couch."

"It's okay, Booth, I'm not sleepy. Just tired from being in that plane for so long." Her voice was uneasy.

I sighed and leaned back into the couch, my arm still over her shoulder. I flipped the TV on, to break the slight awkwardness.

"Booth…?" She whispered. "I really missed you."

I released a sigh. "So did I, Bones. I haven't stopped thinking about you." A smile crept on her otherwise weary face.

She leaned herself into me more, and rested her hand on my chest. "I'm glad to be back here with you."

I inhaled at her touch. _Wow…_

In a raspy, low voice I whispered "Me too…" and pulled my other arm over her side.

My breathing was getting deeper, and so was hers. Her hand grazed against my back, massaging the muscles. _Oh, Bones…_

"It was so hard being away from you this long…" She murmured.

I leaned closer until our faces were at the same level. The passionate look had returned in her eyes. Our faces slowly moved together, until our lips had touched. Our slow, soft kiss had deepened as she ran her hands through my hair and pushed closer onto my mouth. I grasped the side of her shirt and began to tug upwards, while feeling her hand lower from my back. _That dream is coming true…_ Soon our tongues were fighting for dominance—

She froze and broke the kiss. "Booth, I can't. I just can't." Tears formed around her eyes and she pushed me away. I had never been so confused.

"Bones it's okay, we don't have to, I'm sorry." I tried to pull her into a comforting hug, but she resisted so I leaned back.

"I'm so sorry Booth I really need you…but I just…when I was away…." Her voice cracked into a sob.

Fear overcame me._ What could be wrong. _"Bones are you okay? What happened?"

She dropped into my arms.

"_I was raped._"

* * *

**A/N: Hey so I know this was short, but I'm curious to see if I should continue this story. I wrote this really quickly, it's pretty late at night so I was giving a small intro to the story. It'll have its share of fluff and angst :)I have so much work with school, so if I'm going to commit myself to a story, I wanna know if it's interesting enough for people to wanna read :) So please review if I should continue, before you exit out!**


	2. Helpless

**A/N: To clear up any confusion, this is set before Season 6.**

* * *

"_I was raped._"

Three haunting, shattering words. I opened my mouth to respond but nothing came out. Anger and fear instantly overwhelmed me. So, I didn't say anything. I just wrapped my arms around her, while her tears soaked through my shirt.

I held her in silence, as her sobs faded and she fell asleep in my arms. So peaceful, yet so broken.

I couldn't sleep. I just stared down at her for hours, still tightly in my grip. I ran my fingers through her soft hair, wondering. _How dare anyone touch her…how dare they hurt her…if I was just there to protect her…_ I clenched my teeth and took a deep breath. I looked at the clock. 3:40 a.m. The shock still hadn't settled completely. I had the strongest urge to punch a wall and scream, to find the bastard who did this and make him pay.

* * *

After the longest night of my life, I immediately reached out and grabbed my phone to shut off blare of the alarm.

"Booth…" She murmured wearily. "We'll be late for work…" She sat up, pulling away from my hold.

I pulled myself up as well, and shook my head. "I'm calling in sick, and so are you." I reached for my phone. "You need to talk to me."

She was about to object—but I stopped her. "Bones, please." She finally gave a slight nod. I called the bureau, then Cam.

"Why are you calling for Dr. Brennan? Is she with you right now?"

"Don't worry about it, Cam, she's here with me, her flight went well."

"I know Dr. Brennan well enough to understand that she doesn't just _skip_ work. What happened?"

_Why can't she just hang up already?_ "Cam please, it's okay. I promise. I just can't answer any questions right now."

"Seeley…you slept with her didn't you?" _Enough is enough_. I hung up, feeling slightly guilty, but I wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone else. I turned back to Bones.

I took a deep breath. "Bones, talk to me. Tell me what happened." I reached out and tightly held her hand, she immediately squeezed back.

She seemed so weak, so innocent as she coughed out, _"_He just…he wouldn't stop…he…" She winced at her own words.

She looked like she was in pain just talking about it. I released my grip on her hand and started massaging small circles on her back to soothe her. She tensed at my touch, then relaxed. "Bones, it's okay, you don't have to go into detail. Did you know the guy?"

She took a deep breath. "No. His face was covered. But, he told me he'd come back for me. He told me he'd follow me anywhere I go…" Her voice began shaking again.

"No, he won't." I took her hand again. "Temperance." She looked up at me. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." She looked back down and squeezed my hand.

"I know…" She slightly smiled. "I know." She stood up, "I should probably change into something else…"

"We'll stop by your apartment and pick up some of your clothes and stuff. Unless, you want to stay there?"

She immediately shook her head, which relieved me. "I don't feel safe without you."

_She can't even feel safe in her own home._

* * *

Once we got there, I pulled out the key to her apartment that I had. I followed her in silence as she went right to her closet and picked out a navy blue sweater and black yoga pants. She winced in pain when she began to pull her top off, I wasn't sure if she knew that I was behind her. I softly whispered, "Let me help…"

She released her grip on her shirt as I, still behind her, grasped the edges of it and slowly pulled the shirt up. She raised her arms until I removed it fully. I noticed bruises and small cuts over her shoulders and sides. _What has he done to you… _Her skin was so pale, so beautiful, and smooth when I slowly grazed my finger over a bruise. She tensed at my touch, so I grabbed the sweater and carefully pulled it over her.

"I can take care of the rest…thank you…" She reached for the pants, so I walked out of the room. I ran my fingers through my hair and took a deep breath. _We'll get through this_, I reminded myself.

She came back out, holding a set of extra clothes. There were a lot, so I assumed she was planning on staying at my place for quite a bit. I smirked, remembering how stunning she looks _without_ the clothes.

* * *

The ride back to the apartment was quiet. She didn't like to talk much. I attempted to break the silence, "Have you talked to Ange yet?"

"No, I haven't checked my phone. Booth, please don't tell her. I don't want to upset her."

"I won't, but she's probably worried about you. She was so excited that you would be back, but you couldn't go to work today so she might be wondering where you are."

There was a pause. "I love Angela, but right now I can't deal with anyone. I just…need you."

"I'm here for you Bones, through this whole thing, but you can't just ignore what happened. You have to go to the hospital and the police sooner or later." It hurt me to say this, because after such a traumatizing event, she couldn't possible want to go anywhere.

She took a deep breath. "I know."

* * *

**A/N: Ok so this chap was kinda lame & short, sorry I just really wanted to update today! But next chapter's gonna either have a nightmare or a shower scene. Or both. Haha either way, it'll be more exciting than this one. Thanks for all the reviews :) please keep them coming!**


	3. Nightmare

**A/N: Really sorry, should've updated on Friday but I had some family stuff to take care of. Here's chapter 3—They're at the apartment :)**

* * *

"Bones, please eat something." I was getting worried about her health. "Anything." I pleaded, tilting my head to the side.

She let out a sigh and followed me into the kitchen, grabbing an apple from the counter and taking a bite out of it. Although I hoped she'd eat more considering the weight she had clearly lost, I was glad she was at least eating _something_.

"So, Max called me a couple days ago. He's been out of town for the past week. He's coming back tomorrow. He really wants to see you, he missed you a lot."

"I missed him too…" She looked down. "I want to talk to him." She looked almost sad.

"Are you going to tell—"

"No." She cut me off. We sat in silence for a few moments. "Booth?" I immediately glanced up to find her blue eyes glaring at me.

"What if _he_ does find me?" Shakiness returned to her voice. "He said he would…"

I shut my eyes tightly. _I'd like to see him try._ "I'm here. Don't worry." I slowly reached out and took her hand, gently stroking my finger against her knuckles. She took a deep breath and squeezed my hand.

"I can't keep living in fear, Booth. I want it to be over, but it's not. He won't stop. He knows who I am. He knew my name."

"He knew your name? Did you recognize his voice?" _He fucking knew her…_

She shook her head. "His voice was the last thing on my mind."

Anger rose. _I wasn't there to protect her. _"Is there anything at all that you noticed?" I tried to keep my voice calm.

"No, it was dark." I could tell she didn't want to talk about this anymore, so I gave a slight nod and tried to change the subject to prevent her from feeling any more uncomfortable.

"Do you want to catch a movie or something?" I offered.

"I'd rather not go out…I think I'll take a quick shower and go to bed."

"Are you sure? It's only 6."

"I'm exhausted, I've barely gotten any sleep recently. Now that you're here, I feel safe enough to." Her lips slightly curved up into a smile. _I missed that smile._

"Okay. Sleep in my bed though. I'm sleeping on the couch. There's no way I'm making you sleep down here."

"Thank you." She whispered and walked away.

* * *

I ran my hand through my hair as I laid on the couch thinking to myself for hours while Bones was asleep in the other room. _We have to go to the police tomorrow. She won't want to. But I can't just let her sit around. Something has to be done. He has to be caught. She hasn't been eating, she's barely gotten enough sleep. She's trapped in a living nightmare._ Again, I couldn't fall asleep. I was distraught—and hungry.

I quietly made my way to the kitchen and checked the fridge. I hadn't eaten since yesterday. I pulled out a leftover slice of pizza and finished it while making my way back to the living room. It's been a while since I had checked my phone.

6 missed calls. Angela. _Damn_. It was well past midnight so I couldn't call her back. _What can I even tell her? What excuse would explain her best friend missing work and not calling after being gone for months?_ She had shut out everyone but me.

I laid back down on the couch and closed my eyes tightly in an attempt to drift off. _This is going to a long night._

Not long after, I heard a shrill scream. I grabbed the gun I keep behind the couch and stormed into my room. "Bones! What happened?!"

She was seated on the bed curled up and sobbing. I ran towards her and dropped the gun as I pulled her into my arms.

Her words were barely audible through her cries. "I can't even escape him in my dreams." I clenched onto her tighter while she was shaking.

"Shhhh…you're okay, you're going to fine…" I tried to soothe her, rocking her back and forth and rubbing her back. She embedded her chin into my shoulder and wrapped her arms around my neck, holding me tight while her tears dropped onto my bare skin.

She suddenly pushed away from me and yelled, "There's nothing I can do, he's destroyed my life, he's coming for me, I can't do this anymore!"

"Bones…it'll be okay…"

"No, Booth! Why can't you understand that it'll _never _be okay? I can't live like this, I just can't!" Her hand abruptly reached for my gun. I was shocked at her outburst.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" I knocked the gun away and restrained her wrists. "Bones, you NEED help…this can't go on forever!"

Her sobs grew louder and she slumped into me. I wrapped my arms around her waist and dropped down on the bed. She curled up against me, her cries becoming softer and softer.

"_Please don't leave"_

I pulled her even closer and whispered in her ear. _"I never will…"_

* * *

**A/N: Wrote this one quick. Sorry. Not my best, I'll try to update again in the next couple of days to make up for that. Review please! :)**


End file.
